Katie and the Magic Umbrella

About Kristine Kahanek

Kristine Kahanek is a Dallas/Ft. Worth market veteran in television meteorology. Kristine has been reporting the weather for almost two decades, and most recently as the Chief Meteorologist with KTVT-TV, a CBS affiliate.

Kristine grew up on an Arabian horse farm near Columbus, Ohio where she lived until she was twelve years old. Her mother stayed home with Kristine and her younger brother Brian. Her father, then a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force, was the person who sparked Kristine’s interest in weather. When he retired, the family moved to Boerne, Texas where she attended middle school and high school.

One of Kristine’s proudest accomplishments in high school was being chosen as a Rotary exchange scholarship student to Oldenburg, West Germany. She spent her junior year abroad living with four different host families, attending a German high school, learning the culture and another language. Her role as an ambassador allowed her the chance to share American culture and travel to many different countries throughout Europe.

When it came time for Kristine to choose what she wanted to study in college, she chose her passion—weather. In 1989, she received her Bachelor of Science in Atmospheric Science from Texas A&M University.

After graduation, Kristine began her career at the National Weather Service in Austin. Her first job in television began in Waco, TX at KXXV-TV. Three and a half years later she moved back to Austin to report morning weather for the ABC affiliate KVUE-TV. Kristine met her husband, Jim, while in Austin. Shortly after they were married, his job transfer brought them north to Dallas/Ft. Worth. She was fortunate to have several on-air opportunities, but accepted a position to report morning weather for WFAA-TV the ABC affiliate where she worked for more than four years. After a short hiatus from television to stay home and care for her two young children, in the fall of 2002, Kristine accepted the Chief Meteorologist position at KTVT-TV  the CBS affiliate, becoming the first female Chief Meteorologist in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Kristine holds the Seal of Approval from both the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association for on-camera excellence. In 2005, Kristine was named “Best Meteorologist” byD Magazine, the Dallas city magazine.

Why write a book?

As a mother of two school-age children, Kristine has first-hand knowledge of the fears children face as they go out into the world everyday … socially and emotionally. One fear in the minds of many children is the fear of thunderstorms. Many parents approached Kristine over the years asking her for advice on how to talk to children about severe weather and how to keep them calm when thunder roars and tornado sirens sound in the middle of the night. Kristine chose to write a nightstand book that would provide comfort to children, along with an adventure parents and children could share together.

Kristine chose Katie as her “comfort character.” Katie is short for Katherine, the name of the baby girl Kristine and her husband lost due to unknown causes when she was eight months pregnant. Katie was still born on May 10th, 1999. It was a devastating time, but with a strong faith in God, and time, Katherine (Katie) has become the family’s guardian angel and is now Kristine’s inspiration. Through this book, Katie and the Magic Umbrella: A Stormy Adventure, we have the joy of sharing our beautiful baby girl with you and your children. She is the hero in this first of many more books to come. Katie guides children as they overcome typical childhood fears with solid education, love, and a touch of spirituality.